Shoetree

ABSTRACT

THE PRESENT INVENTION RELATES TO A SHOETREE DEVICE COMPRISING UPPER AND LOWER MEMBERS THAT ARE DISENGAGEABLY INTERCONNECTED BY A SUPPORTING ARM. AND ADJUSTMENT MEANS IS PROVIDED TO PERMIT ADJUSTMENT OF THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE SUPPORTING ARM AND THE LOWER MEMBER.

NOV. 16, 1971 w K 3,619,836

SHOETREE Filed April 1, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 16, 1971 TANK 3,619,836

SHOETREE Filed April 1. 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet :2

Nov. 16, 1971 w, TANK 3,619,836

SHOETREE Filed April l, 1970) 3 Sheets-$h0ot L5 United States Patent 3,619,836 SHOETREE Woldemar Heinrich Tank, Bandhagen, Sweden, assignor of a fractional part interest to Toomas Tank, Bandhagen, Sweden Filed Apr. 1, 1970, Ser. No. 24,783

Claims priority, application Sweden, Apr. 1, 1969,

Int. Cl. A43d /00 U.S. Cl. 12-117.2 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a shoetree device comprising upper and lower members that are disengageably interconnected by a supporting arm. An adjustment means is provided to permit adjustment of the angle between the supporting arm and the lower member.

The present invention relates to a shoetree.

Previously known shoetrees usually consist of a body to be inserted in the forward portion of a shoe and flexible means extending rearwardly from said body to fix the body in position through engagement with the counter of the shoe. These known shoetrees have a number of disadvantages. For instance, such shoetrees do not permit a satisfactory stretching of the vamp of the shoe, as the tree body will usually contact only minor portions of the vamp. When such a shoetree is mounted in a shoe the whole body is not brought into contact with the vamp as it is turned upwards around its point. Another drawback is that the counter of the shoe can be considerably deformed. Moreover, the vamp and in some cases also the sole may be deformed due to the disadvantageous application of the shoetree.

There are also shoetrees comprising a lower member adapted to rest against the sole of the shoe and an upper member which is movable relatively to the lower member and adapted to be applied against the vamp. However, also the known shoetrees of this kind have substantial drawbacks, on the one hand of the kind already discussed, and on the other hand consisting in a complicated structure.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved shoetree which eliminates the above drawbacks and is suited to exert a proper forming action on the shoe, while still having a simple construction and permitting the manufacturing costs to be kept at a low level.

The invention relates to a shoetree of the kind comprising a lower member adapted to be applied against the sole of a shoe and an upper member which is movable relatively to the lower member and adapted to be applied against the vamp of the shoe. A shoetree designed in accordance with the invention is primarily characterized in that the upper member is swingably mounted at the front end of a supporting arm at its rear end pivotally connected to the lower member, means being provided to permit an adjustment of the angle between the supporting arm and the lower member.

Naturally, the upper member should have a shape corresponding to the desired shape of the vamp while the lower member should be designed so as to fit the sole shape.

As, according to the invention, the shoetree does not require any stretching means acting against the counter of the shoe it also has a widened field of use. Thus, while conventional shoetrees are not suitable for use in, for instance, sling-back shoes or in high leg boots, the shoetree according to the invention can easily be used also in such shoes.

3,519,835 Patented Nov. 16, 1971 According to the invention the adjustment means can suitably consist of cam means acting between the supporting arm and the lower member. These cam means are preferably pivotally mounted on the supporting arm. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the cam means are formed by two rigidly interconnected cam discs located at opposite sides of the supporting arm.

Below the invention will be described in greater detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a shoetree according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partly exploded view of the shoetree according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a completely exploded view, illustrating the design of the different parts of the shoetree in greater detail; and

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view showing the interconnection between the lower member and the supporting arm.

The shoetree shown in the drawings comprises a lower member 1, an upper member 2 and a supporting arm 3, which at its rear end is pivotally connected to the lower member 1 while its forward end carries the upper member 2 which is swingably mounted on arm 3. The angular position of arm 3 with respect to the lower member 1 can be adjusted by means of two rigidly connected cam discs 4 which are pivotally mounted on the supporting arm 3 and have an operating lever 5 projecting therefrom. As appears from the drawings the lower member 1 has the shape of a generally flat plate while the upper member 2 has a form fitting the normal shape of the vamp of a shoe. The upper member 2 has at its lower surface two downwardly extending flanges 6 adapted to receive therebetween an end portion of the supporting arm 3. As mentioned above, arm 3 has its rear end pivotally connected to the lower member 1 while its front end is similarly connected to the upper member 2. In order to simplify the manufacture of the shoetree all parts are designed so as to permit a disengageable interconnection therebetween. The supporting arm 3 and the upper member 2 are connected by means of two pivot pins 7 projecting from opposite sides of arm 3 and adapted to be inserted in circular openings 8 in flanges 6 through slots 9 terminating in said openings. At its rear end arm 3 has at opposite Sides thereof two tapered projections 10 adapted to be received in recesses 11 formed in flanges 12 projecting from the upper surface of the lower member 1. The cam discs 4 are journalled in the supporting arm 3 by means of a transversely extending bolt 13 which can be inserted in a circular opening 14 in arm 3 through a slot '15.

From the drawings it is clear that each cam disc 4 has a partly helical cam surface adapted to rest against the lower member 1. Hereby the supporting arm 3 and also the upper member 2 can be swung upwards from the lower member 1 through the action of operating lever 5. Due to the pivotal mounting of the upper member 2 on arm 3 it is possible to obtain the desired contact be tween the upper member 2 and the vamp over a large area. In order to ensure that the carrier arm 3 will be maintained automatically in the desired position it is advisable to select the contact points between the cam discs 4 and the lower member 1 so that the load on the upper member 2 does not cause any substantial torque tending to rotate the cam discs 4 in a direction to lower arm 3.

Naturally, the invention is not restricted to the embodiment above described. Thus, the design of the shoetree can be varied in many different ways within the scope of the invention. For instance, the cam discs may be replaced by other means permitting an easy adjustment of the position of the upper member with respect to the lower member.

Finally, it should be noted that the shoetree according to the invention can preferably be made from any suitable plastic material, in which case the dilferent parts can be obtained for instance through injection moulding or compression moulding.

What is claimed is:

1. A shoetree of the kind comprising (a) a lower member to be applied against the sole of a shoe, (b) an upper member which is movable relatively to the lower member and. adapted to be applied against the vamp of the shoe, (c) a supporting arm, said upper member being swingably mounted at the front end of said supporting arm and the supporting arm having its rear end pivotally connected to said lower member, and ((1) means being provided to permit an adjustment of the angle between the supporting arm and the lower member.

2. A shoetree according to claim 1, characterized in that said adjustment means comprise cam means acting between the supporting arm and the lower member.

3. A shoetree according to claim 2, characterized in that said cam means are pivotally mounted on the supporting arm.

4. A shoetree according to claim 3, characterized in that said cam means comprise two rigidly interconnected cam discs at opposite sides of the supporting arm.

5. A shoetree device comprising in combination:

(a) a lower member that is adapted to press against the sole of the interior of a shoe,

(b) an upper member that is movable relative to said lower member so that said upper member can be pressed against the vamp of a shoe,

(c) a supporting arm member located between said lower member and said upper member,

(1) the rear end of said supporting arm being pivotally connected to the rear portion of said lower member,

(2) the forward end of said supporting arm pivotally supporting said upper member, and

(d) means for adjusting the position of said supporting arm so as to adjust the distance between said upper and lower members.

6. A shoetree device comprising in combination:

(a) a lower member of generally flat configuration that is adapted to press against the sole of the interior of a shoe,

(b) an upper member having a shape generally corresponding to the normal shape of the vamp of a shoe, said upper member being movable relative to said lower member so that the upper member can be pressed against the vamp of a shoe,

(c) a supporting arm member that is adapted to be disposed intermediate said upper and lower members,

((1) a first pivot means for engaging the rearward end of said supporting arm member with the rear portion of said lower member,

(e) a second pivot means for engaging the forward end of said supporting arm member with the underside of said upper member, and

(f) cam means adapted to pivotally engage said supporting arm member at a point intermediate the ends of said supporting arm member, said cam means having a cam surface that is adapted to bear against said lower member, whereby the distance between said upper and lower members may be varied.

7. A shoetree device comprising in combination:

(a) a lower member of generally flat configuration that is adapted to press against the sole of the interior of a shoe, the upper surface of said first member being provided with two substantially parallel upstanding spaced apart flange members,

(b) an upper member having a shape generally corresponding to the normal configuration of the vamp of a shoe, the underside of said upper member being provided with two substantially parallel spaced apart downwardly depending flanges,

(c) a supporting arm member that is adapted to be disposed intermediate said upper and lower members, a. lower portion of said supporting arm member being adapted to fit into the space between said spaced apart flange members, an upper portion of said supporting arm being adapted to fit into the space between said downwardly depending flanges,

(d) a first pivot means for disengageably interconnecting the rearward end of said supporting arm member with the rear portion of said upstanding flange members on said lower member,

(e) a second pivot means for disengageably interconnecting the forward end of said supporting arm member with the downwardly depending flanges located on the underside of said upper member, and

(f) cam means adapted to pivotally engage said supporting arm member at a point intermediate the ends of said supporting arm member, said cam means comparising a pair of spaced apart cam discs, each cam disc having a partly helical cam surface that is adapted to rest against the lower member, said cam discs being joined to a rearwardly extending lever member, whereby movement of said lever member causes said upper and lower members to change their spatial relationship.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,503,653 8/1924 Hurt ]2ll7.2 1,778,289 10/1930 Boys 12-1172 2,023,038 12/1935 Weinstein l2117.2 X

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

